Happy Thanksgiving. I hope all have plans filled with food, pie, family, friends and pie. Speaking of Thanksgiving, I bet you are wondering if a Thanksgiving meal has become more expensive over time. Well, according to the good folks at Human Progress, no, not really.
This year is more expensive than last, but overall the trend is down. (The U.S. Farm Bureau points out, “the average cost of this year’s classic Thanksgiving feast for 10 [people] will be $53.31 or less than $6.00 per person. This is a $6.41 or 14 percent increase from last year’s average of $46.90.”)
Curiosity satiated!
ECONOMICS
Speaking of inflation, this is a time of high anxiety, so there has been some debate on how much inflation there is and if it is transitory. However, some have taken this time to doom say with unusual calculations. Timothy Lee debunks one of the more popular doomsayer inflation claims (perpetuated by notables such as Jordan Peterson and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey) that the true inflation rate is 14%. However, the stats appear to based on a mathematical error.
How much does the U.S tax and redistribute compared to other wealthy nations? Well, one working paper by Thomas Blanchet, Lucas Chancel, and Amory Gethin claims the United States, despite more inequality, also redistributes more than any other compared country. See this chart from their paper:
Basically every country set as an example for the United States to follow regarding tax and welfare is included in this chart. Maybe many of the democratic socialists are right, we should be more like the Nordic countries?
This thread (click the tweet to read more) detailing how the American Seafood Company built a 100 ft. railway to avoid the Jones Act highlights the absurdity of the Act. This is even more frustrating at a time of supply shortages which have been partially caused by shipping bottlenecks.
Zofia Ahmad and Luke Chicoine look at the long term impact of the Silk Road, a network of trade routes that existed for 1,500 years. From the abstract:
Using a detailed georeferenced map of the entire trade network, this paper finds that areas within 50 KM of the historic location of the Silk Roads have higher levels of economic activity today. The persistent effect of proximity to the ancient trade network is associated with increased access to modern transportation infrastructure and the historical diffusion of technology along the routes but cannot be explained by differences in contemporary or historical levels of population density. This analysis is complemented by individual-level data from 22 countries; we find that districts with populations closest to the Silk Roads have higher rates of inter-group marriage, suggesting a weakening of social boundaries between groups that might possess differential technological knowledge.
Doux commerce, ftw.
The evidence that economic freedom matters for prosperity continues to pile up. Colin Doran and Thomas Stratmann have this abstract for their working paper:
We study the relationship between economic freedom and poverty rates in 151 countries over a twenty-year period. Using the World Bank’s poverty headcounts of those living on less than $1.90 per day, $3.20 per day, and $5.50 per day, we find evidence that economic freedom, measured by the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, is associated with lower poverty rates. We also test the effect of various components of the Index of Economic Freedom. We find that a government’s integrity and a country’s trade freedom are associated with lower poverty rates.
Using an anonymous account on social media does not necessarily mean worse behavior. What matters is reputation.
Many people focus on the dangers of online anonymity. Back in 2011, Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Mark and (then) marketing director of Facebook, said that for safety’s sake, “anonymity on the internet has to go away”. Such calls appear again and again. Behind them is a common intuition: that debate would be more civil and constructive if people used their real names.
But my research with colleagues suggests that anonymity – under certain conditions – can actually make for more civil and productive online discussion. This surprising result came out of a study looking at the deliberative quality of comments on online news articles under a range of different identity rules.
EDUCATION
From a not yet released paper on earnings for PhD graduates:
There is a clear earnings difference. However, it is notable that even the “other PhD” programs earn a significant amount. Click on the tweet to see the whole thread.
LAW
This story about the disparity in treatment by other law enforcement when someone blows the whistle on bad behavior versus the actual bad behavior highlights the challenges faced when it comes to police reform. From USA Today:
Esqueda told USA TODAY that he’s become a pariah among his coworkers since July 2020, when he shared with a television reporter footage from January of that year showing how officers treated a handcuffed Black man in medical distress. Officers slapped Eric Lurry, restricted his airway and shoved a baton in his mouth hours before his death. Esqueda faces up to 20 years in prison after department officials opened a criminal investigation into his actions and prosecutors charged him with four counts of official misconduct.
Additionally he faced sanctions from the police union:
Members of the Joliet Police Officer’s Association on Wednesday voted 35-1 to expel Esqueda, a move first reported by The Herald-Ledger newspaper in Joliet. In a letter informing him of the impending vote last month, union leaders described his conduct as “reprehensible.”
What did Esqueda do? He shared footage of other officers mistreating a handcuffed black man in medical distress, including restricting his airway and shoving a baton in his mouth. The man unfortunately passed away. All the officers involved reportedly received minor punishments.
It goes without saying not all police are bad and that they provide a valuable service that does deter crime. However, so long as there is asymmetrical punishment focused on whistleblowers and reformers instead of wrongdoers within the system, the talk of reform should take priority.
ASSORTED
New Pew research shows where there is political agreement and disagreement. It is particularly worth noting that certain segments of the right have aligned with policy most often associated with the left, such as raising taxes on the rich and class warfare.
Horseshoe theory sure appears real.
A review of Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Daneen.
Bar-tailed Godwits can regularly travel 7,000 miles in a single flight! And they are not even gliders like the Albatross, but active flappers!
Have a happy Thanksgiving week! Hopefully you don’t have a 7,000 mile journey to make.